Evaluation of the efficacy of several treatments for liver cancer

Currently, liver cancer treatment methods can be roughly divided into two categories, namely surgical treatment and non-surgical treatment. Relatively speaking, surgical treatment is more effective, but not all liver cancer patients are suitable for surgical treatment.

1. Surgery

Generally speaking, surgery is the first choice for patients who are able to undergo surgery. After radical surgical resection, the 5-year survival rate of liver cancer patients can reach 50% to 60%; for patients who meet the criteria for liver transplantation, the 5-year survival rate after liver transplantation can reach about 70%.

For example, surgical resection is more effective, but not all patients are suitable for surgical resection. They need to have better heart and lung function, and the liver tumor must be relatively localized and without metastasis. If these conditions are not met and surgical resection is performed reluctantly, good therapeutic effects cannot be achieved.

2. Non-surgical treatment

Non-surgical treatments include percutaneous local ablation, hepatic artery embolization, radiotherapy, biological therapy, etc. The 5-year survival rate of local ablation for small liver cancer is similar to that of surgical resection, while the 3-year survival rate of hepatic artery embolization chemotherapy for liver cancer that cannot be surgically removed is about 30%. Similarly, local ablation is effective in treating small liver cancers, but for larger liver cancers, local ablation cannot completely kill the tumor and the effect will not be good.

There are many methods for treating liver cancer, and each treatment method has its own indications, which means that only the method that suits the patient's condition is the best method.